For tonight, we went with homemade chicken enchiladas with black beans and cilantro lime rice. As a result, it will not be an overly social evening in my house, but the meal was delicious all the same.

Seriously overpriced. Not worth it at all, in my opinion. If you want to sit at a trendy spot and you want to pay for that, then fine. Otherwise, you can get better sushi for half the price a ton of other places, and you'll actually be able to see the people you're eating with.

...u must be thinking of SBE versions of the chain at LA Live, Hollywood or Brentwood...which are for tourists or industry types that are overpriced. Katsuya Studio City is not cheap but is reasonably priced and is great if u have kids b/c the they have a $6.50 combo meal for the little ones. And most of the excellent sushi spots in LA (Sushi Iki, Sasabune, Asanebo, Kiwami by Katsuya, and the now closed Sushi Nozawa (now closed)) are far more pricey than Katsuya and not as kid friendly. But I am always open to new suggestions.

I was thinking of the SBE one - I didn't realize that the Katsuya on Ventura wasn't affiliated. We like Kabuki for kid-friendly sushi, although those can be hit and miss. We used to go to Octopus in Burbank which is very good. There are other sushi places named Octopus, and I'm not sure if it's the same (there was one in K-town under the building we lived in that was very different).

Where in LA do you live? I assume the valley if you have kids and you're going out in Studio City. We're up in Valencia.

...Encino...but like Studio City Katsuya more than Encino. Yeah, Chef Uechi consults for the SBE group...and has some sort of interest in those, but if u go to Katsuya website, none of those restaurants are listed. There is an Octopus in Encino...but have heard bad things from that location...don't know if related. Friend in Pasadena goes to Kabuki and says it is family friendly.

Good for you. It seems like half the posters on these types of threads make up what they're eating or drinking. If you're having Coors Light and left over pizza, don't say you're simmering your caviar in Remy Martin, say you're having Coors Light and left over pizza.

Spring roll, pancake, lotus root salad, catfish soup. Ann Arbor is getting a new Ramen Spot soon from Chef Takashi Yagihashi called Slurping Turtle. He owns a Michelin Starred Restaurant in Chicago and also the original Slurping Turtle. He also use to own a restauarant in Detroit called Tribute. His son goes to state though so there's that.

I hate this argument. So the only way Qdoba can beat Chipotle is by putting easy cheese in their burritos? That stuff belongs nowhere near a burrito, and should not have any bearing on which of the two is better.

Chipotle beats the hell out of Qdoba every day of the week. FInd a place that have both near each other and I promise the Chipotle is far busier.

I was content to sit on the sidelines until you blasphemed the salsa. As far as the cookie cutter burrito joints go, Chipotle is good. A very close second to Qdoba for me. But their salsa is mild blech, medium blech and hot blech. Qdoba however, (granted, 2 of their "salsas" I don't consider salsas...) has 5 great options for whatever adventure you might be looking for. The corn isn't my thing, but my wife loves it. The pico is good, but adding the roja makes it magical. The tomatillo salsa is pretty darn fantastic, and the habanero is amazing. Somehow they keep that hot hot heat, but it comes in gradually enough so as to not melt your face off before you actually get to taste it.

Oh, and don't even try to come at me with Moe's. Balogna on a tortilla with canned beans and the ketchup they call salsa does not constitute a burrito.

OK, I can get on board with that. Really, I think both places have bad salsa, so I shouldn't have brought that up at all. For cookie cutter burrito joints, both Baja Fresh and El Pollo Loco have far better salsa selections.

Qdoba has both of those as well as queso (which is soo much more than easy cheese WILA). They just call them "pulled pork" and "shredded beef". It's the same thing, different name.

Having said that, for me it depends what I'm eating. For a burrito, I'd generally go to Chipotle, I don't know why but theirs just taste better to me. Now if I'm in the mood for some tacos, it's Qdoba all the way. Craft 2, hardshell (I know, I know), with nachos, one shredded beef, one pulled pork, habanero salsa and I'm good to go.

Yeah - 5 guys was started by a Michigan grad who is from Michigan (though the restaurant actually started in the DC area, I believe). There was a piece on him in one of the M alumni magazines they send us.

That said, his burger joint is good, even very good, but In-n-out it is not.

Ok, lived is SoCal for two years and in-n-out is overrated. There is nothing special about it, bottom line. Five guys is just as good and arguably better. There are two things you can count on hearing about from someone who lives in SoCal, in-n-out and the weather. Both happen to be overplayed

Look, I'm from Michigan so I'm not a local Californian looking to rep where I'm from. There's plenty wrong with this state and I'll admit it.

That said, the weather is awesome, and so is in-n-out. It's a little different, and my initial opinion was similar to yours, I thought it was overhyped. But then I had it again and again, and now I can't think of a burger any other way.

You probably also didn't know to order yours animal style, which makes a difference.

I guess that's a matter of opinion. Weather was nice, but never really got warm enough to enjoy the beach, which was a bummer. Also not a huge fan of absolutely no seasonal change. I live in Houston now and it does make you appreciate the changes a bit, without the cold, of course!

And of course I knew about animal style, only amateurs don't. Like I said, two years and it was good, but IMO, not better than anything else. Seems like it's one of those things that everyone says is awesome, so, mob mentality causes a lot of people buying into it ( not saying that's you, btw). You also said that it was nothing special at first, so perhaps you're just getting complacent with mediocre burgers haha

Speaking of things wrong, I don't miss that horrendous traffic, not one bit.

The green chile cheeseburger at Umami is awesome, as is the Umami burger itself. I think In-n-Out has just been outdone by many other places. It's fine, but Five Guys is easily as good. The one caveat: I know about animal style, but I've never had it, so I'm willing to proven wrong.

...80 in Malibu in February is a rarity, but it happens. And I lived on the beach in Marina Del Rey for 2 years and had plenty of great days on beach in the off season...but once sun sets it is windy and cold. And the water is only warm from late July thru early October...but it way warmer than any lake I have swam in in Michigan during the summer. I prefer wearing a wetsuit and surfing in the winter than shoveling the snow in my driveway :)

shooting little birds with bow and arrow and snow to the Pacific Ocean, SoCal isn't the ideal place for u. I liked the snow my freshman year and like it when I go skiing, other than that give me the beach and smell of ocean any day. Only thing I like about seasons is fall, when leaves change and you know it is time for college football at the Big House! And too hot? Hottest most humid summer I can remember was in Ann Arbor!

In general, I must agree on the people aspect. I met a handful of cool people, but ran into way too many rude people in general. You eventually learn to accept it as the norm, but once you leave for another place, you realize just how strange some things are. I think that's just what you get out there. Texas has its down sides as well, but people are not one of them.

That wasn't my point, it was that an air temp of 80 or higher on the beach is not the norm. To me, that doesn't make me enjoy my beach experience. Too cold for my liking. I'd prefer Florida or the gulf coast any day.

Probably. Mine was just a mixed cheese quesadilla with some seasonings because I was running low on "real food" to put in it and my quesadilla maker isn't all that big either, so it kinda limits how extravagent my quesadillas can be.

Gonna be sauteing a veal shoulder chop with lots of garlic and olive oil soon, then either left over kale with pecans or string beans with garlic, and a NorCal margarita to drink (tequila, seltzer, and lime juice).

Too lazy to go anywhere or make anything, so I'm having the only dinner that makes sense: A few girl scout cookie "sandwiches" (tagalong + trefoil + tagalong). I know, I'm a disgusting human being and I apologize.